


Open Up

by Jathis



Series: The Steward and the Sorcerer [46]
Category: Sofia the First (Cartoon)
Genre: Advice, Friendship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:28:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28588014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: Greylock has a talk with a former royal steward one morning
Series: The Steward and the Sorcerer [46]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091021
Kudos: 2





	Open Up

One of the maids had to stay home when her child fell ill. This left a hole in the maid’s section. They would need to assign someone from one of the other sections to it to make up for it.

Slickwell was chosen.

The former royal steward grumbled softly to himself as he gathered up the old sheets and blankets from the bed. He put them in a basket for linen meant to be cleaned and then started to take out the freshly cleaned sheets that would replace them.

A ghost flew into his face when he straightened up. It was a plump little thing, colored a soft blue. A swirl was on top of its head and a purple bow had been set where a chest would be. It was also made completely out of glass. “Greylock…” Slickwell sighed.

The glass figure continued to float in front of him, moving side to side as it spoke to him. “Greylock? Who is that? My name is Demi! I’m a little ghost!”

Slickwell rolled his eyes and started to make the bed with the new sheets. “Go haunt someone else then.”

“Ooh look at you! Mister Slickwell! Always acting so grumpy and standoffish with everyone! You just don’t want them to see your real side but they can see it! After you helped Baileywick’s brother…”

Slickwell whirled around, glaring at the glass figure. “Who told you that?!” he demanded. The figure floated down onto the pillow, lying limp and still.

“Talking to glass figures, Slickwell?” The royal glassmaker stepped out from behind the doorway where he had been hiding. “Perhaps you’re starting to go mad!”

“Who told you, Greylock?” Slickwell demanded.

The former sorcerer rolled his eyes and walked over to pick up the figure. “Mr. Demi around guests, dear boy.”

“We’re alone.”

“True.”

“Now answer the question instead of deflecting,” he said.

The scarred man laughed, sitting down in a chair as Slickwell resumed his work. “It’s not really a matter of who told me. It’s more of a matter that all of the staff know about it.”

“And why do they know?!” he hissed.

“Why are you so angry at people knowing the real you?” Greylock asked, his expression softening. “You were never like this in Rudistan…”

“This isn’t Rudistan!” the younger man huffed.

“No, it’s not. That’s why you should be treating this as a new place instead of focusing on the past.” Slickwell didn’t respond to that and he sighed. “Someone saw Baileywick taking you aside to thank you for what you did. From there it spread around.”

“Gods damned gossips!” he snarled, angrily putting a new case on a pillow. “You can’t do anything around here without someone spying on you!”

“There are people here who like you, Slickwell. You should let them in. You cannot keep them out forever.”

Slickwell snorted and said, “I don’t need friends.”

“What about me?” Greylock asked. He watched as Slickwell paused briefly, unsure what to say to that.

“You’re different. We worked together in Rudistan,” he finally said. He smoothed his hands over the sheets and then went to collect his things to go to the next room.

Greylock followed after him. “What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of anything!”

“Then why are you so defensive around the Enchancians?”

“What does it matter to you? You’re not an Enchancian either!” Slickwell pointed out, turning around to look at him.

“No, but I’m your friend. You can let others in too, Slickwell.”

“If I keep them at a distance I can’t get hurt if I lose my job,” he finally said. “When I lost my job back in the homeland I lost all of my friends in the castle too. No friends means no worries of heartbreak later.”

He shook his head, chuckling at the other. “You are such a foolish young man sometimes,” he said. “I doubt you or I will lose our jobs here. You’re allowed to make yourself some friends. You’re allowed to open up.”

“...you think so?”

Greylock shrugged and smiled. “What’s the worst that could happen from making friends here? You’ll be able to move on and properly live your life? Sounds awful!” He watched as the other’s lips twitched in a faint smile. “At least consider making one other friend, old boy. I shan’t always be around to grace you with my gorgeous looks and glowing personality.”

“Don’t you have some glass to make, you old mother hen?” Slickwell countered.

“Ah! How could I forget! The world will collapse without my glass creations!” Greylock cried, pretending to be shocked and dismayed. He took his leave then, waving goodbye to the other over his shoulder.

He smiled to himself when he saw Slickwell talking to some of the other staff later in the day, allowing himself to loosen up around them.

**Author's Note:**

> The figure is Demi from Vampirina.  
> He is also voiced by the same man who voices Greylock.


End file.
